VMI celebrates 80-year milestone

Between the start of April and the end of November 2025, VMI celebrated its 80-year milestone. From a small workshop in the rural peace and quiet of Gelderland, the Netherlands, VMI has grown to be a global player, with operations on almost every continent, playing a key role in driving growth and quality improvement across the can making, tire, rubber and other industries worldwide. 

Around the World in 80 Years was the theme for the year, with celebrations in every major location, attended by country management, members of the board and the company’s employees. The celebrations began on 1 April, when every part of the company came together online, before moving into large-scale events and parties in Yantai (China), Stow (US), Itatiaia (Brazil), Leszno (Poland) and Vadodara (India), with a special highlight of the campaign being an epic Family Day in Epe, in which over 3,000 people took part. 

This event, bringing together not just people who work for VMI but their wider families, as well, perfectly illustrated what was so special about the whole campaign. It was about global presence and a celebration of just how far VMI has travelled in scale and reach – but it was also a tribute to its people. To all those special human beings who helped build the company over eight decades, to the families who supported them every step of the way, and to the rich and inclusive culture that makes VMI unique, the company said.

Harm Voortman, VMI’s CEO, commented: “VMI is a global business, but we are also truly local in every country where we operate. We pride ourselves on being professional, rigorous and always working to the highest standards, but also welcoming, open and friendly to everyone.” 

Over its 80 years, VMI has been built on a strong foundation of exceptional ideas, great insights, original thinking, an uncompromising commitment to R&D and a constant stream of great products, designed to enhance and support the markets and customers it works with. 

This was also the year when VMI received the gold EcoVadis award, celebrating recognition as one of the most sustainable and environmentally responsible manufacturers globally. 

As Mike Norman, chief commercial officer, commented: “This great milestone has been reached and VMI is already looking forward to new challenges, new achievements and more celebrations- with innovation as the key to success in the future, just as it has been for the past 80 years.”